Page 27 of Shift of Morals (Shifter Lords #2)

Chapter

Seventeen

“ E vie!” Hazel called from the back of the shop. The witch had taken the bouquet home last night with little to show for it. She’d gotten so busy with it, I’d been able to sneak out the back and walk my property for the rest of the evening.

This morning, she barely said a word and headed straight into the back with the thing.

“On my way!” Sounded like she found something. I opened the door and peeked in, making sure it was safe to enter.

Hazel stood a few feet away from the table, her eyes glowing with power. A wide smile creased her face. “Got it!”

She wiggled her fingers. “Told you I’d get you.” Hazel’s cackle made me grin.

The bouquet looked even worse today. Several of the flowers had turned black, and the bottom oozed a dark liquid. Gross.

“Come closer,” Hazel urged. “I need to show you something.”

Hesitantly, I edged around the table, coming up beside Hazel. She waved her hand, and the lights dimmed. A strange blend of magic floated above the bouquet.

“One layer is some form of shifter magic. The other is disguised as a blessing, meant to trigger when your magic reacts to it under stress.” She tsked. “It’s a good thing you haven’t touched this in a few days.”

I grimaced. The last few days had turned me into a complete stress ball. I hadn’t used my Floromancy since Finn showed up. My muscles and magic still hurt, but I was much better today than yesterday. By tonight, I should be back to normal. Or whatever passed for normal these days.

“This was never about the bride. Whoever made this planned for it to be in your space. They knew you’d handle it and made the spell for you.” Hazel blew out a breath. “Whoever planned this was smart. Several things had to fall into place for this to wind up in your hands.”

Moira popped her head in, blinking several times as she stared at the bouquet. “Creepy.”

Hazel waved her in. “It’s safe.”

“Ish,” I said.

Moira came in, giving us a wide berth. “What’s going on with that thing?”

“Magical trap,” Hazel said. “Or a black magic spell. I can’t tell which yet.”

“Meant for Evie?”

“Looks that way,” Hazel said.

“Bully for me,” I muttered.

“We need to find out if the spells were planted before or after the wedding planner handled the flowers,” Moira said. “Caroline doesn’t seem like a criminal mastermind.”

“Doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a deeper involvement than she’s admitting to,” I said.

“Maybe we should take another look at her,” Hazel ventured.

My instincts nagged at me. “Maybe. But I think someone powerful orchestrated this. Not Caroline.”

Hazel shook her head. “You really managed to step into it this time, child.”

“I had nothing to do with this!” Shaking my head at her, I shooed them both away. “Go get lunch or something. I’ll close up the wards.”

Hazel winked. “Troublemaker.”

Moira laughed and held the door open for the witch.

If those two were getting along, things really were topsy-turvy.

Once they were gone, I stepped closer to the bouquet and peered down at the rapidly decomposing blooms. Sighing, I started to build the wards and was just about to close them up, when a bloom unfurled from the plant and snapped out at me.

I gasped and took a step back, magic ripping from my body in reaction.

Thorns burst from the stems, the other blooms unfurling and blackening over and over again. Gritting my teeth, I reached for my Floromancy, attempting to shut the surrounding wards, but the bouquet fought back, pushing against my magic.

It was no longer content with being contained.

I poured more magic out until the wards finally snapped closed with a loud pop.

I sagged against the stainless fridge, my breath coming in gasping heaves.

“What the hell are you?” I whispered.

The bouquet quivered in response.

Fiery pain bloomed over my damaged tattoo. A sharp cry escaped, and I slapped my hand over my mouth before I alerted the others, hissing through my teeth as the pain came to a crescendo and slowly faded, leaving behind a soft golden glow.

One more weird thing to contend with.

Awesome.

The rest of the day was mostly normal. Tourists filtered in and out of the shop, and we sold almost all the seasonal arrangements Ash and I had worked on for so long. By the end of it, I was dragging.

Hazel snatched up my keys. “You look dead on your feet. I’ll drive us home.”

“Careful, Hazel,” Moira said, a wicked glint in her eyes. “Evie’s car is far different from your broom.”

Ash snorted.

Hazel’s eyebrows went up. “Watch it, girl. I’ll spike your blood with cyanide.”

“Mm,” Moira said. “Poison.”

The witch rolled her eyes. “Come on, Evie. Let’s get away from your terrible friends. I still need to take a look at your magic.”

“We need to wrap up the bouquet first.” I didn’t volunteer. “Maybe Moira was right. Should we burn that thing to a crisp and tell the customer we lost it?”

“I’m game,” Moira said.

“No.” Hazel held up a finger. “This is a puzzle piece. We need to find out where it fits.” She headed toward the back. “Give me five to wrestle with the damn thing, and we’ll get out of here.”

Lots of banging and cursing later, Hazel walked out with the magic dampening pouch, and we were on our way home.

Hazel handed me a glass of wine and pointed to the couch. “Sit.”

“Ugh. Do I have to? How many people are going to put their fingers inside me today?”

A beat of silence before horror spiraled through me. “I could have said that better.”

“Yep,” Hazel agreed, mirth sparkling in her eyes. “But my fingers won’t be any place fun.”

“Thank the gods for that,” I mumbled.

Hazel snickered. “Drink your wine and relax. This won’t hurt.”

Sighing, I settled back against the couch cushions and closed my eyes. Hazel’s touch and magic were familiar. We’d spent months together in Scotland, Hazel acting as caregiver while I tried to survive the curse raging through my body.

Her magic was hard to explain. Ash’s felt like ancient forests. Ben’s was cool and gentle. Hazel’s felt like walking into a circle filled with powerful women, thunderous and fierce, but completely painless.

Yet not relaxing, either.

When she finished, Hazel’s touch lifted. I opened my eyes to see my former mentor’s eyes glowing with concern. “Evie.”

“If it’s bad news, can I have another glass of wine first?”

Without responding, Hazel pulled the bottle over and topped me off. “Your body is acclimating to the Chimera magic. The first time we suppressed it.” She shook her head. “It’s far too late for that. Now we have to sit back and wait to see what happens.”

“I love surprises,” I said dryly.

Hazel patted my hand. “One more thing.”

I eyed my wineglass and sighed.

“The suppression spell I put on the tattoo is fading. I’ll spend tomorrow back here rebuilding the spell for another tattoo. Still want a thistle?”

“Might as well stay with the classics.”

A knock on the door came and Moira poked her head in a moment later. “Thought I’d stop by and check on Evie.” She came in holding a large bag of popcorn.

“Are you serious right now?” I asked.

She shook the bag at me. “You’re always entertaining, but I like my movies with snacks.”

“Ass.”

She blew a kiss my way.

“On that note, I think you should practice shifting.” Hazel rose and took the wine with her. She grabbed two more glasses and jerked her head toward the back door. “I noticed a wide-open space at the back of the greenhouse. Let’s go out there.”

We followed Hazel outside, and I was glad I’d brought a shawl. A chill had settled in the air this evening, and a strange wind blew through the trees, a moaning whine as it whistled through Joy Springs.

A precursor of things to come, I was sure.

And we hadn’t even gotten to the warning from my mother about Neit.

There was a small pond at the back of the greenhouse, tucked behind a small alcove of trees. “Here,” Hazel said. “Stand right there.” She pointed to one of the few open spots by the pond.

Obeying, I turned and spread my arms out. “Command me, oh wise one.”

Hazel reached over and tweaked my nose. “Don’t sass your elders.”

Moira perched atop a rock and munched on popcorn, giving me a little wave when she caught my eye. Then the jerk pulled out her cell and snapped a picture of me standing there looking like an idiot.

“You wait,” I groused. “Revenge is a dish best served icy.”

She flashed me a grin.

“Put your arms down at your sides. You aren’t Jesus.”

“If only,” I muttered. “They’d never subject him to this nonsense.”

Hazel shook her head. “No, my child. Only the horrible death via stoning.”

Moira laughed.

“Now stop talking out of your ass, close your eyes, and think about what you would like to become.”

I did and immediately cracked an eye open. “Anything?”

“Anything living,” Hazel amended.

“Even a plant or a tree?”

Moira sucked in a breath. “You’d be the perfect spy. Imagine the possibilities. You could even break into the Keep and spy on Caelan!”

“Why ever would I want to do that? I like my head on my shoulders.”

She lifted a slender shoulder in a shrug. “I dunno. Maybe to peek in on him in the shower?”

“Perv,” I said affectionately, closing my eyes again. “I’ll try a bird first.”

“Not a wren. That’s cheating,” Hazel said.

“Nope. Something cool.” I inhaled and thought of a bald eagle.

Nothing happened.

“Focus,” Hazel urged. “Clear your thoughts of everything except the animal or plant you want to be.”

It took a while, but the first tingles of a shift pricked over my scalp. Not knowing what it would feel like, I waited, but when those tingles stopped, I opened my eyes to see Hazel staring at me in horror.

Moira choked on a piece of her popcorn and was bent over trying to exhale it from her lung.

“What?”

Hazel blinked. “Err. Whatever you were trying to do didn’t work. All the way, at least.”

I reached toward the top of my head only to feel silky, bony feathers. My face was still me.

A quick look down revealed the rest of me was still there, too. “Shoot.”

Moira’s laughter had died down to soft snickers.

“Try again,” Hazel encouraged.

I tried to become an oak tree next, only for the wind to pick up and a great groaning sound to rocket through the forest. I opened my eyes to see all the trees bending toward me.

“Shit.”

“Let go of the magic,” Hazel urged.

As soon as I did, the trees straightened.

“That’s a new one,” Hazel murmured to herself. She stood before me and held me by the arms. “I’m going to guide you through a relaxation exercise. Think of nothing but my voice and the actions I tell you to take. Ready?

I nodded.

Hazel’s accented voice guided me through a series of deep breathing until her words tuned out and all I could hear was the sound of my inhale and exhale.

“Try again,” she urged.

This time, the tingles from last time were all over my body, and I felt my arms and legs lengthen. My back morphed until I was hunched over, and I knew something was happening.

When I opened my eyes, Hazel and Moira wore equally horrified expressions.

I tried to speak, but my words came out garbled due to the mouthful of fangs.

A quick look down revealed scaled skin, feathered wings, and a long tail, but when I tried to take a step, I promptly keeled over, right into the pond.

As soon as I touched the water, my form melted away, and I was myself again.

Soaking wet this time.

Hazel hauled me out of the water. “Not quite what I expected, but a good effort.”

I spat out a mouthful of water. “Was it?”

The witch laughed. “Yes. You become something other than yourself. That’s definite progress.” She positioned me where she wanted me to be. “A few more times and we’ll go inside.”

“But it’s cold,” I whined.

A wave of her hand and a cheerful fire started, warming my backside but keeping my front chilled.

“Again,” she demanded.

Sighing, I did as she asked.